Introducing TheUnlockr Social Network, Forums, and Research Panel

For the new year, we wanted to streamline the site (which you might have noticed by the more simplified theme), and while we’re still working on it, I think load times are definitely reduced across the board and hopefully that means less headaches for you guys. Thing is we also wanted to add a few new sections for you guys as well.

We ended up adding, not one, but three new sections that we are announcing today; the Social Network, Forums, and Research Panel. So with out further ado, here is more info on all three sections and how you can utilize them.

I. Social Network

First up is the Social Network. The idea behind it was that we wanted to create a place where tech savvy users could congregate and discuss the latest technologies, where people could come to get advice about devices, and where people could connect with other people in their industry.

The social network on the site consists of 5 sections; Profile, Live Feed (Activity), Members, Groups, and Achievements. Here’s a breakdown of each section.

• Profile – This is where you put your information about yourself including your name, location, and things like past gadgets, current devices, etc. We encourage you to fill out as much of this as you can and add a picture so it’s easier for others to find you. You can also find your messages, mentions, latest activity, groups you are a part of, friends, achievements you’ve unlocked and change settings about your account. When viewing other people’s profiles you can also Public and Private message them or add them as a friend.
  You might also notice badges next to members of TheUnlockr staff’s profile pictures stating that they are “TheUnlockr Staff”. We are also going to be issuing “Developer” badges as well so if after you sign up if you do code writing of any kind, please contact us using the contact us form on the bottom left of the site and we’ll add that badge to your profile (for use with future features).
• Live Feed (Activity) – This is where you can see what everyone in the network is doing like who they’re chatting with publicly, things they’ve posted, etc. This is also where you can post your latest status update and add images, videos, and links to other sites that you’ve found interesting.
  You can sort by all activity, just friends’ activity, or just the activity from groups that you are a part of. 
• Members – You can click on this section to see all the members of the network and also your friends. Tip: You can also search this section for certain gadgets. For example, typing “iphone” into the search members box will list all the users who have listed that they have owned or currently own an iPhone. You could then maybe message that person and ask them what he/she likes dislikes about the iPhone to help you get more information before purchasing one.
• Achievements – These are badges you can unlock when you perform certain tasks on the site.
• Groups – Anyone can create or join a group. Simply head to the Group section of the network and find a group that interests you or create your own. Some groups are private and you need to be approved to join and some are public and anyone can join. Some examples of groups could be, “Samsung Galaxy S II Developers” group, “HTC Fans” group, “Tech Bloggers” group, etc

Now I know what some of you are thinking. What would I use it for? Glad you asked, here’s a few ways it could be used for:

• Post updates, questions, videos, images, links to your status on the network that you might otherwise find too techy to post on your Facebook and have other like-minded people comment and discuss.
• Comment and discuss tech related topics with others in the industry.
• Search (using the search members search box at the top right of the site, just make sure the drop down is set to members) for other people in the industry by typing in a company, industry, or location. Then make connections with those peoples to help you get a job or work, chat about tech, or anything else that tickles your fancy.
• Search (using the search members search box at the top right of the site, just make sure the drop down is set to members) for different gadgets (i.e. type in Galaxy Nexus) and get all the people who listed that they either own or have owned that device. Then you can message those people for their opinions on these devices before you go and purchase one yourself.
• Saw a post on the site and want to discuss it with the author? Simply click on the author’s name on that post and be taken to their profile on the social network. You can then message them about their post or see more information about them.
• Create group for like-minded people like other Samsung developers, or people who love HTC, etc.

We’re sure you guys will come up with others ways that haven’t even crossed our minds, so feel free to explore and use it how you see fit.

II. Forums

While I’m pretty sure most people are aware of how forums work, here’s some info on our new Forums, just in case.

• Once you’ve signed up for the Social Network you can also use the Forums with the same account.
• Consider the forum a common area for people to join in a discussion.
• To start a topic: head to the forum and click on the category that best suits what you want to discuss. Then either join in a conversation topic already started or start a new one using the form at the bottom of the page.
• You can also subscribe to a topic to receive emails when it’s updated.

Pretty simple, right? So go ahead, spark a conversation.

III. Research Panel

Finally, the last new section we’ve added to the site is our own Research Panel.

There were certain companies asking us for our opinions on products they were going to launch so we decided, instead of answering these ourselves, we’d do them one better; we’d let our readers answer them. I mean, who better to answer these things than the super tech savvy readers of TheUnlockr.com, right?

If you want to participate, all you have to do is sign up for our Research Panel and as surveys come in, you’ll be sent an email with a link to said survey. Oh, and did we mention you’ll get paid for these answers? That’s right these companies are actually going to pay you (via Paypal) for each survey you complete. You can even check how much you’ve earned by logging in to your Panel account here.

Sound good to you? Go head and get started. You can cancel your Panel account at anytime so why not give it a try?